Valdivia v. Schwarzenegger

599 F.3d 984, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 6184, 2010 WL 1133441
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit·Decided March 25, 2010·No. Nos. 08-15889, 09-15836·Published·Cited by 54 cases

Opinions

Opinion by Judge HAWKINS; Partial Concurrence and Partial Dissent by Judge NOONAN.

HAWKINS, Circuit Judge:

These consolidated appeals stem from the November 2003 Valdivia Permanent Injunction (“the Injunction”) — based on a stipulation between Jerry Valdivia (“Valdivia”) and a class of similarly situated California parolees1 (“Plaintiffs”), and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the State of California (collectively “the State”)— prescribing procedures for parole revocation hearings in California. Here, the State appeals two post-injunction orders: (1) the March 25, 2008 order (“March 2008 order”) adopting the Injunction-related recommendations of the court-appointed Special Master regarding the use of hearsay evidence in parole revocation hearings; and (2) the March 26, 2009 order (“March 2009 order”) denying the State’s motion to modify the Injunction to conform to the voter promulgated statute, CaLPenal Code § 3044, formerly California Proposition 9 (“Proposition 9”).

[987]*987Bound by United States v. Comito, 177 F.3d 1166 (9th Cir.1999), we affirm the March 2008 order. Because the March 2009 order made no express determination that any aspect of the California parole revocation procedures, as modified by Proposition 9, violated federal constitutional rights, nor any determination that the Injunction was necessary to remedy a constitutional violation, we vacate and remand the March 2009 order for the district court to make that determination and to reconcile the Injunction and Proposition 9.

Background Facts & Procedural History

In May 1994, Plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of parole revocation procedures under the Fourteenth Amendment’s right to due process, as defined in Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 487-90, 92 S.Ct. 2593, 33 L.Ed.2d 484 (1972), and Gagnon v. Scarpelli, 411 U.S. 778, 786, 93 S.Ct. 1756, 36 L.Ed.2d 656 (1973). The district court granted partial summary judgment in favor of Plaintiffs, holding that California’s parole revocation hearing system violated their procedural due process rights. Valdivia v. Davis, 206 F.Supp.2d 1068, 1078 (E.D.Cal.2002). The parties later agreed to the Injunction, which limited “the use of hearsay evidence ... by parolees’ confrontation rights in the manner set forth in ... Comito.”

The March 2008 order

In response to the parties’ attempts to clarify the Injunction in light of United States v. Hall, 419 F.3d 980 (9th Cir.2005), and after additional briefing and a hearing, the Special Master recommended: (1) the State should be found in violation of the Injunction; (2) all hearsay is subject to Comito balancing — weighing “the releasee’s interest in his constitutionally guaranteed right to confrontation against the Government’s good cause for denying it,” Comito, 177 F.3d at 1170; (3) hearsay exceptions do not eliminate having to engage in full Comito balancing; and (4) the State did not demonstrate compliance with paragraph 24 of the Injunction.2 In its March 2008 order, the district court fully adopted the Special Master’s conclusions and recommendations. The State subsequently filed this timely appeal.

The March 2009 order

Following passage of Proposition 9, Plaintiffs moved the district court to enforce the Injunction and bar implementation of Proposition 9 due to its conflict with the Injunction. The State countered with a motion to modify the Injunction to conform to Proposition 9.

After oral argument, the district court issued its March 2009 order, granting, in part, Plaintiffs’ motion to enforce the Injunction, and denying the State’s motion to modify it. The district court found that while several provisions of Proposition 9 conflict with the Injunction, application of the Supremacy Clause meant the Injunction prevails over state law, to the extent of any conflict. Modification was also not warranted, according to the district court, because Proposition 9 did not constitute a change in applicable law or facts. The court did not reach whether Proposition 9 violates the U.S. Constitution. The State then filed this timely appeal of the March 2009 order, and the two appeals were consolidated.

JURISDICTION

We have jurisdiction over the appeal of both orders pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1).

[988]*988Because the March 2008 order modifies an existing injunction, it is immediately appealable under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1). See Gon v. First State Ins. Co., 871 F.2d 863, 865-66 (9th Cir.1989). It also fulfills the three-part test of Thompson v. Enomoto, 815 F.2d 1323, 1326-27 (9th Cir.1987). First, it “ha[d] the practical effect of the grant or denial of an injunction”: it added the recommendations of the Special Master to the Injunction and mandated them, including the qualitative assessment and training of Deputy Commissioners and the Special Master’s new role as a moderator and supervisor. See id. Second, it had “serious, perhaps irreparable consequences,” id., such as the possible contravention of Supreme Court precedent by imposing “numerous ... costly obligations” on the State, including additional required training and monitoring programs. Cf. Negrete v. Allianz Life Ins. Co. of N. Am., 523 F.3d 1091, 1097 (9th Cir.2008) (finding serious consequences where “none of the other cases in which Allianz is, or may be, involved can be settled by or in the other courts in which they are located absent permission of Negrete Counsel and the court in this case”). Finally, it “can only be challenged by immediate appeal because if[the State] awaits the final determination of this case” the damage to hearsay determinations in parole hearings, and the cost of monitoring the Deputy Commissioners, will have already accrued. See id. It is unclear how long this litigation, which began over 15 years ago, will continue before a final judgment issues. “A decision by us months or years after that cannot repair the damage.” Id.

The March 2009 order is appealable, as both parties concede, under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1), as the State is appealing an order refusing to modify an injunction.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

The district court’s March 2008 order adopted the Special Master’s report and recommendations in its entirety. The legal conclusions of a Special Master are reviewed de novo. See United States v. Clifford Motley Family Trust, 354 F.3d 1154, 1163 n. 10 (9th Cir.2004). Factual findings of a Special Master are entitled to deference and reviewed for clear error. See Labor/Cmty. Strategy Ctr. v. Los Angeles County Metro. Transit Auth., 263 F.3d 1041, 1049 (9th Cir.2001).

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Valdivia v. Schwarzenegger, 599 F.3d 984, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 6184, 2010 WL 1133441 (9th Cir. 2010).

599 F.3d 984 (Valdivia v. Schwarzenegger) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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